


Carry On

by TheWeepingMonk



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Declarations Of Love, Episode Fix-It: s15e20 Carry On, Fluff, M/M, POV Alternating, POV Outsider, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:01:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27816490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWeepingMonk/pseuds/TheWeepingMonk
Summary: "That was weird.""What was weird?""Dean," Sam answers. "He's gotten really happy out of nowhere and now he's taking a roadtrip so Charlie can meet his dog? I just don't buy it. He's up to something.""Up to what?"Sam struggles to makes a guess then finally says, "I don't know...maybe he's trying to find a way to bring Cas back."
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 145





	Carry On

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this before I saw the final episodes and uh, still Upset, so welcome to my world where we throw away canon as many times as it takes until it stops hurting
> 
> anyways I haven't written Destiel in forever so I hope this isn't godawful.

Three weeks after defeating Chuck, Sam notices a change in Dean. Ever since Cas died he's been grieving in his usual way - lots of alcohol and listening to the same mixtape over and over again while occasionally taking Miracle on walks. 

But over the last five days he's cooked breakfast for them and Elieen, cleaned his room, and left the bunker for longer walks with Miracle. Sam even heard him humming to himself in the library the night before. All in all its a complete 180 from before. 

It's weird, but Sam's scared pressing his brother will only make him spiral again, and he's content to wait it out - at least until that morning, at breakfast when Dean says, "I'm going to visit Charlie and Stevie."

"Oh yeah?" Sam questions, half surprised, half excited. The farthest Dean had wanted to go after getting Eileen and doing one final hunt was to the store to get more alcohol. As soon as they'd returned to the bunker he'd closed himself off, only accepting Miracle's presence with any sort of excitement.

"Yeah. They want to meet Miracle," Dean answers.

Sam quirks his brow. "You're driving all that way just to introduce them to the dog?"

"Hey, Miracle's one of a kind!"

Sam frowns slightly. It was a bit odd for Dean to go to them instead of asking them to come to the bunker. 

"That's great, Dean," Eileen tells him. "I hope you both have fun."

Dean smiles at her. "Thanks. I just hope Miracle doesn't piss in the backseat."

Eileen chuckles and breakfast goes by smoothly, but the second Dean's gone Sam says, "That was weird."

"What was weird?"

"Dean," Sam answers. "He's gotten really happy out of nowhere and now he's taking a roadtrip so Charlie can meet his dog? I just don't buy it. He's _up_ to something."

"Up to what?"

Sam struggles to makes a guess then finally says, "I don't know...maybe he's trying to find a way to bring Cas back."

"Is that a bad thing?" 

"Depends on the _how_ ," Sam says, signing to make sure she understands. His first thought is that he would go to Jack, but to his knowledge Jack hasn't been around. His second thought is crossroads demons, but even if he found one, they'd have to be pretty stupid to go to their own grave. His final thought is Dean stumbled upon some ancient magic hidden in some corner of the bunker and he immediately starts towards his brother's room.

♡♡♡

Jack watches from a distance as Castiel talks to the new angels. He's proud of what they're doing to restore Heaven together, and his father was a natural leader, but he can't help feeling the longing rolling off of him. 

He knows about his love confession to Dean - the Empty had been mocking him for it when he rescued him - but Castiel refused to talk about it. The most he said was, " _Dean deserves to live the life he chooses free from divine influence so he knows it's real. It's the only way he will ever get to be happy."_

But Jack knew something his father had never quite seemed to grasp - Dean could never truly be happy without him. It had been the first thing Jack had learned after he was born and Dean had hated him with every fibre of his being because he blamed him for Castiel's death. 

And then, as soon as Castiel had been resurrected, Dean had softened, a light in his eyes that eventually grew to include Jack himself. Jack now knew that it had been a lesson about love all along. Love that was even stronger now than it was then, but perhaps needed some help in getting off of the ground. 

Which is why, six days ago, Jack had finally answered one of Dean's melancholy prayers asking him to bring Castiel back. 

♡♡♡

Eileen follows Sam into Dean's room, trying to tell him it wasn't right to go through his brother's things, but Sam insists he just needs to know Dean isn't doing anything dangerous and she relents. Dean has been borderline suicidal since he lost Castiel, and she couldn't say for sure that he wasn't just trying to hide it better now. 

She looks around as Sam digs through drawers, and after awhile she spots a slip of paper in between Dean's vinyl collection. She snatches it up while Sam's distracted by Dean's computer. 

> _~~ALDEN~~ $199,000_
> 
> _RUSSELL COUNTY, $149,000 ( THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT HA! )_
> 
>   
> 

> _~~GARNETT~~ $219,000_
> 
> _OTIS $225,000_
> 
> ~~_GREAT BEND $575,000_ ~~
> 
> _~~WESKAN~~ $248,000_
> 
> _LAWRENCE $440,000_

It seems Dean is trying to buy something, but she doesn't have a clue as to what could possibly be so expensive. She flips the note over.

> Cas, I'm sorry I didn't say it back. ~~I was just scared.~~ I was in shock ~~and~~
> 
> ~~Having God as your son has its perks, huh?~~
> 
> ~~I love~~
> 
> ~~I feel the sa~~
> 
> ~~Me too.~~
> 
> ~~Cas, what you said back there with Billie...me too. I feel it too.~~
> 
> ~~I love you.~~
> 
> Damn it! I'm going to find the right words to tell you how I feel eventually. I think finding the right place first will help. 

Eileen covers her mouth in surprise as she realizes what she's just read. Everything about Dean's sullen behavior and sudden happiness made more sense. 

Dean was in love with Castiel and by the sounds of it, he knew Castiel was alive somehow and was determined to tell him how he felt. 

She rushes over to Sam, offering him the note. 

Realization dawns on Sam's face.

"Cas is alive," he says with a smile. "And Dean's finally ready to tell him how he feels."

She returns his smile briefly then shows him the other side of the note. 

He frowns immediately. "We don't have this kind of money for him to spend on... _whatever_ these are."

"Research?" Eileen suggests. 

Sam looks up, his frown slowly morphing into a fond smile. "Research," he agrees. He steals a kiss then starts typing at Dean's laptop, a page to a real estate site popping up after the second search.

_Why would Dean be looking for property?_

♡♡♡

"So what do you think?" Charlie asks, sitting next to Dean on the front porch, "Did I do good or what?"

Dean turns to her with a soft smile on his face. "Real good."

Charlie beams at that. She'd worked so hard to find what Dean had been looking for and securing the money he needed with a mix of allocating police funds from different departments all across the country and selling off a few rare items the men of letters had lying around. 

She nudges his shoulder with her own. "So, you have the place, and the offer, but do you know what you're going to say yet?"

Dean's smile fades, his gaze shifting to the ground. "Not really."

"What's getting in the way?"

Dean starts picking at his jeans. "Cas...he gave me a whole speech, ya know? He said _everything.._.I don't know if I can do that. I'm no Shakespeare. If I was I would've said something before the Empty took him."

Charlie can _see_ the pain in his face, the regret. It was amazing how Dean thought he had to say it when his face probably said everything. "Well, if you don't think you can _say_ it right away, you should start by _showing_ it."

"And how do you propose I do that?"

Charlie smiles. "You know Dean, there are _some_ things chickflicks get right about love."

He blinks at her.

Charlie rolls her eyes. "I can't believe you made it this far into your plan without realizing it's all one big romantic gesture missing the _one_ thing to tie it all together."

Dean furrows his brow.

"You can cook, right?" Charlie asks. 

♡♡♡

Jack smiles as he listens to Bobby, the one from _this_ dimension, tell him stories about Sam and Dean when they were younger, even adding in some of his memories of Castiel. He has to say, he likes this man better than John Winchester who didn't seem to have half as many good memories with his sons as Bobby did. 

_Jack, I know you can hear me. I'm ready. Bring Cas to me._

"Alright Jack?" Bobby asks. 

Jack blinks, realizing he'd frozen in place at the sound of Dean's prayer, then nods with a reassuring smile. "Dean is ready."

Bobby lights up. "'Bout damn time. Tell me how it goes."

Jack stands up. "I'll come to you as soon as I have news."

"I knew my boys raised you right."

Jack chuckles and waves before teleporting himself to Castiel. His father is talking to Kelly as he often did.

"Jack!" His mother exclaims when she spots him, rushing over to hug him. 

He hugs her tightly. 

She pulls away after a moment to cup his face. "I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing you here," she comments. "My baby."

He smiles warmly and leans into her touch. "You can see me everyday. I'm only a prayer away."

She returns his smile. "Want to walk with me to Mary's?"

Jack furrows his brows. "You can travel between Heaven's?" 

"Castiel taught me," she says. "He thought I'd like to make friends with someone who was important to you."

There's a pang of guilt in his stomach. He hasn't been to see Mary. He's been, well, not avoiding it, exactly, but too busy to even think of it.

"Oh," Jack says, shifting nervously. "Um. I don't know if - "

"She's been asking about you," Kelly tells him as if reading his mind. 

"She has?" 

Kelly drops her hands from his face and nods. "She wants to see you."

Jack looks over at his father who offers an encouraging smile. It wasn't much but it was enough. It said, _don't worry, you'll be okay_.

But first...

"I _will_ go with you, but I need to speak to Cas first."

"Is everything okay?" Castiel asks with a slight frown, taking a step towards him.

"Yes. I just have a mission for you," Jack tells him. "Maybe the _most_ important mission."

♡♡♡

Castiel stares around in confusion, wondering why Jack would send him to a ranch in the middle of nowhere. It's dark out, the only light coming from the large house up the drive. 

He's tempted to fly back to Heaven, but Jack had said it was important so he marches up to the house, knocking on the door. 

A dog bark from inside, and then he hears heavy footsteps rushing towards the door. 

Castiel thinks of drawing his blade, still unsure of the nature of this visit, but before he can summon it the door swings open and he finds himself face to face with Dean Winchester. He freezes in place. 

"Cas," Dean says, sounding excited to see him. "Hey." He smiles and pulls Castiel into a hug that he's slow to return, but sinks into happily.

"Hello Dean," Castiel says fondly, squeezing him tightly. He smelled even nicer than Castiel remembered. Felt warmer. 

Dean pulls away after a moment with a big grin, clapping him on the shoulder. "It's good to see you, man. Having God as your son has its perks, huh?"

Castiel smiles at that, the thought that this reunion was Jack's _"important mission"_ as amusing as it was sweet. "Infinite perks it seems."

There's a brief moment where Dean's grin falters, but he's quick to move on. "You hungry?"

Castiel opens his mouth to say he doesn't get hungry - a fact Dean knew - but just then his stomach growls. He frowns in confusion, narrowing his eyes. He tries to fly away but his wings don't work, and though he feels his grace it doesn't respond to his will. "Apparently I'm _very_ hungry."

"Great! Cos I made your favorite!" Dean exclaims, throwing his arm around Castiel's shoulders and pulling him inside.

 _Jack, what have you done to me?_ He sends it out as a prayer and as Dean introduces him to Miracle he gets a reply. 

_Just trust me, Cas._ Jack's voice rings in his head. _I'm doing this for your own good._

Castiel pets Miracle until Dean insists they go to the dining room. He stops short at what he sees. 

There's a long hardwood table decorated with flowers and candles, two places set on opposite sides horizontally, music playing softly in the background from an old boombox. There's burgers and milkshakes waiting for them, and it all very much appeared deliberately romantic. 

"Dean, what's going on?" Castiel asks, gaze flicking to the other man. He thinks he knows, but hope is a very dangerous thing. 

Dean rubs at the back of his neck. "Uh, well I probably should've asked first but uh...a _date_. I guess."

"A date?" Castiel echoes in disbelief. 

"Yeah," Dean says. "It's usually how relationships start."

Castiel blinks at him. "What are you saying, Dean?"

Dean visibly hesitates, mouth opening and closing, until he takes a determined step towards him - and then another and another and then he's in Cas's personal space.

Castiel feels himself moving closer, gravitating towards Dean as he always did. 

Dean grabs his face and he kisses him. He kisses him and Castiel can't quite process it, but when Dean starts to pull away he grabs him by the lapels of his maroon overshirt and pulls him back. 

It starts rough and desperate as if they're both unsure if it's allowed then it becomes softer, slower, their mouths shifting until they find how they best fit together.

Tears begin to well in his eyes, his happiness overwhelming because Dean loved him too, and he was trying his hardest to show him - to reciprocate in a way that couldn't be misinterpreted. 

Dean pulls away first, resting their forehead's together, one hand cradling the back of Castiel's neck, and the other fisting his trenchcoat. "I love you," he whispers like it's his most heavily guarded secret and he's afraid to even say it aloud. 

Castiel shuts his eyes tight against happy tears and nuzzles into him. "I love you too, Dean," he says gently. 

They stay close together like that for awhile, occasionally stealing kisses, hands clutching at each other, and they don't talk about the tears or the pain, but they start to heal anyway. 

♡♡♡

Dean can't help the way he stares at Cas while they eat. There'd been this awful ache in his chest ever since the Empty took him, stealing his air, and twisting everything inside painfully, but the moment he held Cas in his arms it had eased, and he felt like he could breathe once more. Now, all he wants is to make sure he never feels that awful ache again.

"How's Jack?" Dean asks, interrupting Cas talking about Kelly.

"He's happy, I think. He's planning to tear down the walls in Heaven and rebuild what Paradise is in his image." He sounds so proud that it makes Dean smile. 

"What about you? Have any plans I should know about?"

"I plan to aid Jack in whatever he needs."

"Anything besides that?"

Castiel tilts his head curiously. "No. What other plans would I have?"

Dean swallows nervously as he pulls a slip of paper from under his placemat. "Right...Well then maybe you could make some with me."

"What is that?"

"A deed," he gestures around them, "To all this."

Castiel blinks as if he doesn't see how it relates to anything. 

"Uh, so, I was thinking of giving up hunting - at least full-time - and I thought, hey, it'd be pretty cool to own a ranch. I'm young. I can still do hard labor," He tells Cas, his heart rate spiking as he nears the most important part of his rambling, "But see, the thing is...I don't know how to grow crops or raise animals or anything about how to run a ranch which is why I'm asking you to stay so we can figure it out together."

Castiel smiles, the skin around his eyes crinkling. "You want me to live here with you?" 

Dean smiles too, reaching across the table to grab Cas' hand. "Cas, all I've ever wanted was for you to be with me, but every time I thought we could finally just _be together_ something always got in the way. And you know that was Chuck, but Chuck's gone and there's nothing stopping us. We can say and do what we really want."

 _And I want you,_ he thinks, hoping the unsaid words will hang in the air. He wants to get better at saying exactly what he means, but he knows Cas doesn't mind the implied, the unspoken. He looks so happy already just by him saying this much. 

But then there's a flash of something in his eyes that worries Dean. 

"What about Jack? He needs me."

"You can still help him," Dean says. "You'll still be angel."

"And you don't mind that I won't grow old with you?"

Dean squeezes his hand. "See, Jack and I, we've had a few little chats, and if you decide to take my offer, he will make you a Nephilim. You'll age with me, and you'll still have your grace. You can still help Jack in Heaven and you can get hungry and tired and experience all the aches and pains of getting old with me."

"Dean..." He looks at a loss for words, his eyes bright and full of affection. 

"If you want, we can even find a way for you to start beekeeping," Dean adds, as if he doesn't already know he's got Cas sold on his dream for them. 

"I would like that," Cas says. He covers Dean's hand with his. "I would like all of it. With you. Only you."

Dean's chest swells with emotion, so happy he feels like he might burst. "Good, cos uh, Sammy's gonna be pissed when he finds out I sold Ivar the Boneless' shield and Joan of Arc's last known sword to buy this place."

Cas laughs and it's the best sound Dean's ever known. 

♡♡♡

Dean wakes up the next morning to find Cas next to him, snoring softly. He smiles to himself because he gets to have this new life with Cas. He smiles because he can hunt as much or as little as he wants, and Cas will be right there with him - on Earth and then in Heaven. 

He'd always imagined he'd die bloody and violent and way too young, but now that Chuck wasn't writing the story, he allows himself to think he'll die peacefully, at a reasonable age, and maybe even happy - _definitely_ happy. 

_Any_ life he got with Cas would be happy. He would make sure of it. 

He grabs his phone off the nightstand and takes a picture that he sends in response to Sam's many unanswered texts before curling up to Cas. He was warm and soft, and Dean couldn't help stroking at his belly, finally free to touch, and trace, and kiss and memorize every part of the man he loved. 

Cas wakes up after a few minutes, and kisses him and kisses him until both of them are too awake to sleep. 

♡♡♡

Sam thinks he's just narrowed down Dean's location when his phone buzzes on the table. He picks it up and sees Dean's finally answered all of his texts. He opens the chat and drops his phone in pure shock before picking it up again to make sure his eyes hadn't deceived him. 

Dean's sent a picture of himself throwing up a peace sign next to a half naked Cas with a caption that said, | _srry I was busy_. |

Sam puts a hand over his mouth and starts laughing hysterically. He'd been so worried about Dean's mindset the last twenty-four hours, flipping between the good and the bad for why Dean would lie about where he was going, but it seemed that his brother was just fine. 

He shows Eileen the picture when she walks in with their coffee and she smiles - a fondness in her eyes that only family could have. He smiles because of it, and he thinks that without a cruel God, his family will finally find peace. 

**Author's Note:**

> I literally don't know what possessed me to write it this way but it was fun lmao
> 
> Anyways, please let me know what you thought of this!


End file.
